Curtain window-screen.



J. A- TERRY 8!. N. H. NELSON. comm wmnow SCREEN.

. APPLlCATlQN FILED FEB. 20.197- 1,260,831 Patented Mar. 26, 1918.

v 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- JAMES A. TERRY AND NELS H. NELS ON, F POCAHONTAS, IOWA.

CURTAIN WINDOW-SCREEN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar.26,1918.

Application filedFebruary 20, 1917. Serial No. 149,803.

tion.

l The object of this invention is to provide an improved construction for screens for windows and the like, which screen is adapt ed to be wound upon a roller within a housing at the margin of the opening.

. when not in use, adjacent to its place of use and readily brought into position for use when wanted.

A further object of this invention is to provide improved means for holding the margins of a flexible screen when in position for use. I

A further object of this invention is to provide improved means for insuring and procuring a tautness of the screen in use.

A further object of this invention is to provide improved means for compacting a flexible screen to inoperative position.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved construction whereby a flexible screen may be operated from within the inclosure on which it is placed.

A further object of this invention is to provide improved auxiliary devices for holding thescreen in extended position, and also adapted for holding a storm sash within the opening when the screen is not in use. 1

Our invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of elements hereinafter set forth, pointed out in our claims and illustrated by the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of a window frame equipped with one form of our improvement, the screen being shown in com-v pacted or inoperative position. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same with the screen in extended or operative posltion. Fig. 3 1s an enlarged section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, of one of the marginal guides. Fig. 4 is an enlarged section of a marginal portion of the preferred form of screen. Fig. 5v is an enlarged vertical section of the lower portlon of the flexible screen and trough-like holder at the bottom margin thereof. Fig. 6 is an end elevation of the housing, the screen being in compacted position.

Fig.7 is an exterior front elevation illustrating a modified form of the device, the

screen being in extended position, portions being broken away to economize space. Fig. 8 1S a cross-section on the line 88 of Fig. 7, on an enlarged scale, a portion of the screen being shown by dotted lines. Fig. 9 is an interior elevation of the device shown in 7, portions being broken away to economize space. Fig. 10 is a vertical section on the indicated line 10-10 of Fig. 7. Fig. 11 is a detail elevation illustrating a socketwrench brace, together with a stem to be operated on thereby, which is employed in adjusting elements of the device. Fig. 12 is an end view of the socket of the brace. Fig. 13 1s a view of a portion of the brace taken at right angles to the view in Fig. 11. Fig. 14 is a view of one form of roller employed.

The window frame is here shown conventionally, the elements thereof being hereinafter referred to in connection with elements of our improvement. A housing -10 is mounted on the outside head casing 11 of the window frame, said housing preferably being formed of sheet metal by bending and pressing, said housing being entirely closed at its top, front and ends and at its bottom except for a longitudinal slot 12 adjacent the casing 11 and extending the entire length of the opening of the frame. A roller 13 is mounted in the housing 10 and has its ends journaled in the ends of said housing, one end portion of said roller having an angular stem 14 projecting through one end of the housing. A flexible'screen member 15, formed of screen wire cloth of desired construction, is fixed at its upper margin to and adapted to be wound on the roller 13, said screen member being of a size to cover the window opening and overlap at its side margins on the vertical casings 16 of the frame. Vertical guide members 17, 18 are oppositely arranged and fixed to the vertical casings 16 and extend the entire length thereof, terminating at their upper ends adjacent the slot 12 of the housing. One of the guide members is shown in detail in Fig. 3, and preferably is constructed of sheetmetal by ending and pressing. Each guide member 17, 18 is formed of a base member 19 adapted to contact with and be secured to a casing member, which base member is bent forwardly at its outer margin at an acute angle to form an integral front member 20 of less width than said base member, the front member being bent inwardly and rearwardly at its inner margin to form an inturnedflan e 21 spaced very slightly at its inner end from the base member 19. -.The marginal portion of the screen 15 is adapted toextend at each side between the base and flange of a guide member, whereby slide bearings and holding means are provided for marginal portions of the screen. We prefer to form the screen 15 with a selvage at its side margins by running a plurality of warp wires in a bunch through the loops formed at the ends of the woof wires, said bunch comprising any desired number of wires so arranged that they are thicker than the diameter of a warp wire, a shown in Fig. 4, whereby a selvage strand 22 is formed of the desired size, thereby providing an enlarged bead at each side margin of said screen. The bead so formed by the wires 22 is of greater thickness than the space between the base 19 and flange 21 of the guide flanges, whereby the side margins of the screen are securely held by said guide members, as shown in Fig. 3.

A sheet metal binding member 23 is secured to the lower margin of the screen 15, and said binding member is extended to form a forwardly and upwardly troughed flange 24, which may be curved or angular in cross-section, adapted to be brought into contact with the upper face of'the sill 25 of thewindow frame, when the screen is in extended position, and also adapted to be brought into close contact with the lower face of the housing 10, when the screen is in compacted position, as shown particularly in Fig. 6. When in the latter position the flange 24 effectively closes the slot 12 and prevents the entrance of the elements which might tend to damage the inclosed screen, and in case any moisture accumulates on the housing it is received into said troughed flange and discharged at the open ends thereof. Means is provided at the bottom of the window casing for engaging the flange 24 to hold the screen in extended position. To this end a latching bar 26 is pivoted at one end to one side casing 16 at its lower end, and is of a length to extend across to the other side casing and engage within and be yieldingly held by a spring clip 27 fixed to said opposite side casing and opening upwardly. When in this position the latching bar 26 lies Within the trough of the flange 24 and holds said flange and the screen against upward movement.

frame, preferably is fixed to the first side casing 16 above the pivoted end of the latching bar 26, and is adapted to engage the free end of said bar at times to hold the same indnoperative position as shown by solid lines in Fig. 1. When the screen is compacted and not in use, the latching bar 26 may be employed to hold the lower portion of a storm sash (not shown) within the Window frame, by contacting with the lower portion of the outer face of said sash. A coiiperating latching bar 29 may be pivoted at one end to the upper portion of a side casing 16, immediatelv beneath the housing 10, and be engaged by a spring clip 30 on the opposite side casing, to hold the upper end of a storm sash; and a spring clip 31 may be mounted on the side casing 16 beneath the pivoted end of said latching bar to hold said bar in inoperative position at times.

A ratchet wheel 32 is mounted on and fixed to the projecting angular stem 14 of the roller 13, and a pawl 33 is pivoted on the adjacent end of the housing 10 and is adapted to engage said ratchet and prevent reverse or unwinding movement of the roller. turning the roller 13 to wind the flexible screen thereon, or to tighten said screen when held in extended position. Such means is shown in Figs. 11, 12 and 13 of the drawing, and comprises a brace member 34 of common form, with an offset central portion adapted for manual turning to rotate the device. One end of the brace member is formed with a fork 35 in which is pivoted on a transverse axis 36 a swivel block 37, preferably rectangular in cross-section and having rounded ends. A socket member 38 is formed at one end with a fork 39 embracing and pivoted to the block 37 on a transverse axis 40 at right angles to the axis .36. The socket member 38 is formed at its opposite end with an end-opening angular socket 41 fitted and adapted to engage the angular stem 14 of the roller 13. By using the auxiliary tool above described it is possible to secure a sufficient leverage on the roller 13 for turning of the same, and the swivel ar rangement permits an operation of the offset tool at an angle to the face of the inclosure of which the Window frame is a part, and without striking the wall of said inclosure. The brace wrench is employed to wind the flexible screen 15 upon the roller 13, the latching bar having been released, to the end of placing said screen into inoperative compacted position. It is also employed, when, the screen having been extended and the latching bar positioned upon and within the flange 24, it is desired to tighten the screen Auxiliary means is provided for and eliminate sag or looseness thereof in use. When this has been accomplished the pawl 33 is engaged with the ratchet 32 to prevent unwinding of the screen and loosening thereof, or to prevent undesired and accidental extending of the screen when in inoperative position.

In Figs. 7, 8, 9 and 10 we have shown an adaptation of our improved curtain screen to use on upper story windows, not readily accessible for manipulation of the screen from the outside. In this construction the troughed flange 24 at the bottom of the flexible screen 15 is turned inwardly relative to the inclosure or house. A plurality of latching lugs 42 are pivoted on bolts 43 mounted vertically in the sill 25, said bolts being threaded at their upper ends and wing nuts 44 are .adapted to be screwed thereon above the latching lugs 42, to hold 7 said lugs in desired position. The latching lugs 42 are adapted to be extended toward the creen and to engage over the flange 24, preferably being formed with down-turned lips or flanges 42 adapted to seat within said flange, thereby securely holding the screen 15 in its extended position.

In this construction the angular stem 14 of the roller has secured to it a bevel gear 45 meshing with a bevel gear 46 secured to a shaft 47 journaled in and extending through the head casing 11 of the window frame. The ratchet wheel 32 is fixed to the shaft 47 on the inner face of the window frame, and the pawl 33 is pivoted on said frame and adapted to engage the ratchet. The shaft 47 is angular at its inner end, and is adapted to be engaged by the auxiliary tool or socket wrench above described, or any other suitable instrument, for rotation of said shaft and of the roller through the gears 45, 46; or the angular stem 14 may be engaged and turned from the outside of.

the inclosure if desired.

A loop 48 may be secured to the bottom of the screen 15*, or to the flange 24 thereof, to provide a hand hold for starting the screen from the housing 10 when extending said screen. After the screen has been started, it is desirable to rasp the flange with both hands near its emIs for extending of the screen.

When it is found desirable to employ screen cloth of common form for the flexible screen 15 or 15*, it is desirable to provide a slightly different form of guide from that shown in Fig. 3. Such difl'erent form of guide is shown in detail in Fig. 8, and indicated generally by the numeral 17*. This guide is very similar in construction to those previously described in detail, the principal difference being an elongation of the guide, or rather a greater transverse dimension, to permit the screen 15", which is not equipped with a bead, to extend a material distance within the guide, and a considerable distance beyond the free margin of the base member 19 and the adjacent margin of the flange 21 formed on the front member 20, thus reducing the possibility of said screen being accidentally withdrawn from the guide. In such construction it is desirable to provide auxiliary means to prevent withdrawal of the unbeaded screen 15 from the guide. To this end a In 49 is mounted transversely of the guide 1 a and secured at one end by a screw 50 seated in the casing. The lug 49 extends inwardly just beyond the inner margin of the guide 17 and is formed with an integral tooth 49 at right angles to its body portion, adapted to be passed through the screen 15 and be seated by manual pressure in the window casing, thus preventing Withdrawal of the screen from theuide.

T e pivoting of the latching lugs 42 on the bolts'43 may be by means of longitudi- -nal slots in said lugs, to permit Withdrawal of-said lugs from engagement with the flange 24 when the nuts 44 are loosened, and said nuts may also be employed to secure said lugs in inoperative position, at right angles to their operative positions, as illustrated at the right of Fig. 9.

When the unbeaded form of screen 15 is employed, it is desirable to provide auxiliary means for facilitating tightening thereof in extended position. To this end We have provided a roller 13 shown in detail in Fig. 14, having a central portion 13 of greater diameter than its end portions, and tapering from said central portion to its ends. This provides means for applying greater tightening strain to the central portion of the screen 15", the portion which is 'most likely to sag in use.

The top'wall of the housing 10 may be turned up alongside the head casing 11, as shown in Fig. 2-, and be covered by the header 51 of the window frame, to eflectively seal said housing against entrance of the elements.

The binding 23 on the lower margin of the flexible screen 15 or 15 extends only between the guides 17, 18, and the flange 24 of the screen 15 extends only between the side casings 16; and said binding 23, together with the flange 24 or 24*, limits movement of said screen within the slot 12 of the housing 10. Such members also provide a rigid construction for the lower margin of the screen, to facilitate manipulation thereof in either direction.

The selvage edge of the screen 15 preferably is relatively flat, so that it does not interfere with ready winding of the screen on the roller, but still lends suflicient stiffness to vage strand 22 may be interwoven relatively to the woof wires of the screen, the principal characteristic being that they are closely bunched and of greater combined thickness than the normal thickness of the screen.

We claim'as our invention- 1. A curtain window screen, comprising a housing formed with a longitudinal slot, a roller journaled in said housing, a flexible screen fixed at one end to said roller and passing through said slot, said screen having a metal binding secured to its free margin, said binding being formed with a laterally extending flange, and means pivotally mounted and adapted to engage said flange for holding said screen in extended position.

2. A curtain window screen, comprising a housing formed with a longitudinal slot, a roller journaled in said housing, a flexible screen fixed at one end to said roller and adapted to be wound thereon, said flexible flange of said binding and holding the screen in extended position, together with means for holding the latch bar in engaging relation with said flange.

3. A curtain window screen, comprising a housing formed with a longitudinal slot, a roller journaled in said housing, a flexible screen fixed at one end to said roller and passing through said slot, a laterally extending flange being formed on the lower margin of said screen, said flange forming a stop to limit movement of said screen within said housing and also forming a closure for said slot, a latch bar pivoted at one end on one side of the window casing and adapted to be extended across the win dow in holding engagement with said flange, and a spring clip on the opposite side of said window casing adapted to receive and hold the free end of said latch bar.

4. A curtain window screen, comprising a housing formed with a longitudinal slot, a roller journaled in said housing, a flexible screen fixed at one endto said roller and passing through said slot, vertical, inwardly opening guides extending downwardly from said housing at opposite ends of said slot, each guide comprising a base member adapted to be secured to a window casing, said base member being bent forwardly at an acute angle at its outer margin to form an integral front member, the front member being bent inwardly and rearwardly at its inner margin to form an inturned flange, said flange being spaced slightly at its inner end from the base member, the side margins of said screen entering the space between said flange and said base member and slidable within said guides, and means for holding said screen in extended position.

5. A curtain window screen, comprising a housing formed with a longitudinal slot, a roller journaled in said housing, a flexible screen fixed at one margin to said roller and passing through said slot, and vertical guides extending downwardly from said housing at end portions of said slot, each guide comprising a base member adapted to be secured to a window casing, said base member being recurved at its outer margin to form an integral front member, the front member being bent inwardly and rearwardly to form a flange extending in a plane toward but stopping somewhat short of said base member, whereby a narrow space is left between the inner margin of said flange and the base member, said screen being formed with an enlarged bead on and extending longitudinally of its side margins, said screen entering the space between said flange and said base member, said beaded margins being adapted for vertical movement in said guides between said front and base members, said flanges preventing escape of said beads.

6. In a curtain Window screen, a roller journaled for rotation, a flexible screen fixed at one end to said roller, means for holding side margins of said screen when in extended position, means for holding the lower margin of said screen when in ex tended position, and-means for rotating said roller, said roller having a central diametrically-enlarged portion and tapering from said enlarged portion toward each of its ends, said tapering portions comprising a major portion of the length of the roller on which said screen is adapted to be wound, whereby when said screen is wound on said roller, greater tension is applied to the central than to the side portions, and sagging of the central portion of the screen is prevented.

Signed by us at Pocahontas, Iowa, this 10th day of February, 1917.

JAMES A. TERRY. NELS H. NELSON. 

